New rental reforms have come into force for Western Australian renters. (Source: Getty/AAP)
Western Australian renters will only have to endure one rent increase a year, and will be able to keep pets and hang up paintings. The state government’s new rental reforms came into effect for 700,000 renters this week. Advocates say more needs to be done, but some landlords aren’t convinced.
Landlords can now only increase tenants’ rent once a year, instead of once every six months. The change brings Western Australia in line with other states and territories, including New South Wales, Victoria, Queensland, South Australia, Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory.
Rental prices in Perth are currently at an all-time high: the average house rent is $650 a week, up 12.1% year-on-year, and the average unit rent is $550 a week, up 14.6% year-on-year, according to Domain data. Vacancy rates hit a two-year high in June but still stand at just 0.6%.
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Western Australian Premier Roger Cook said the changes to rental laws, which will also allow landlords to keep pets and make minor changes to their properties, would give tenants more stability and certainty.
“These changes will make renting fair for everyone, give tenants certainty in their budgets and help them feel more at home where they live,” Cook said.
Tenants still need to get permission to keep pets and make small improvements such as installing insect screens, water-saving showerheads or vegetable patches.
Landlords can refuse under certain conditions or with the approval of the Consumer Protection Commission.
If you’re a renter or landlord and would like to share your story, contact us at tamika.seeto@yahooinc.com.
Reforms “not enough”
Alice Pennycott, a spokesperson for Making Renting Fair, told Yahoo Finance that the reforms were a step in the right direction, but that more needed to be done to provide “real protections” for renters.
The story continues
“This doesn’t go far enough and doesn’t get to the heart of the issues facing renters,” Pennycott said.
Make Renting Fair is calling on the government to ban no-cause evictions, and the New South Wales government recently announced it will introduce legislation to address the issue later this year, bringing it in line with Victoria, Queensland, the Australian Capital Territory and South Australia.
Pennycott, lead rental lawyer at Circle Green Community Legal, said it was “disappointing” the Government had not taken steps to ban evictions without cause, which he said was a “fundamental” step to give tenants adequate protection.
“meanwhile [renters] “Tenants can have their lease terminated for any reason and they cannot challenge it. That level of uncertainty and instability means they don’t feel like they’re at home and can’t really settle, and as a result they don’t feel confident raising issues with their property or speaking up about rent increases,” she told Yahoo Finance.
“When you introduce things for pets or modifications, people don’t necessarily enforce that right. [eviction] It looms over their heads.”
Make Renting Fair also calls for the introduction of rent stabilisation mechanisms, such as capping rent increases to the Consumer Price Index or wage increases, where rent increases are “unfair or unreasonable”.
Landlords resist change
The Australian Association of Property Investment Professionals has suggested the rental reforms will not encourage existing investors to stay or potential new landlords to enter the property market. Many landlords have also expressed their disappointment with the reforms online.
“If renters want to do these things, they should save up and buy their own place. I should be able to use my hard-earned money to decide if I can have pets in my home,” one person said.
“Glad I sold all my rental properties. Good job Labour! They keep changing the renting laws and taking away all landlords’ rights!” said another.
Pennycott stressed that tenants are responsible for any damage caused to the property, including that caused by pets.
Other landlords said they have no problem with the change but are uneasy about setting rents a year in advance.
“The problem I’m facing now is projecting interest rate increases, market changes and general expenses over the next 12 months, which means I’ll have to increase rents to make up for this ‘estimated’ shortfall, thereby hurting my tenants sooner than I would like,” one person said.
Pennycott said limiting rent increases to once a year could mean renters are hit with bigger hikes than if changes were made every six months.
“We’ll have to wait and see,” she said. “Knowing what the next 12 months holds gives people a little bit more stability for a little bit longer, but it doesn’t really address the issue of rental affordability.”
Western Australia’s rental reforms follow a ban in May on rent bid solicitations, which allow tenants to challenge retaliatory measures by landlords.
The simplified bond issuance process is expected to be implemented in early 2025.
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